By comparing 0:20 and 3:33 you can see how great a pianist Zimerman is. 0:20 is so subtle, sweet and meticulous... 3:33 transform the same passage into the climax of the piece... truly magnificent, Master Zimerman!
this guy inspires the uninspired ha ive been playing for 12 years and everytime i quit all i gotta do is watch zimerman or yundi li play and im back right at it:)
It's so amazing that he transports that piano everywhere he goes. The same Steinway everytime I see him play. I've never seen a pianist so dedicated to perfection like Zimerman. He is my favourite. Anyone agrees?
Zimmerman...you can always count on him to provide world class Chopin interpretations! Honestly this must only be second to listening to the late man himself!
I for ever try to figure out how do you explain to the fans of this playing, that Mr.Z is doing it all wrong, basically betraying Chopin, who is after all his countryman? The Polish, insanely aristocratic spirit of a piece like this comes through only with the underplaying, bacause playing it like this Mr.Z is compelled to toss a lot of the musical information out, in order to maintain the musical narrative he imposed on the piece. This fantasia is actually much better than this, believe me.
We all walk a fine line when playing chopin. This fine line separates aristocracy from the raw passion of the music. If you venture too far into either, you entirely miss the point. I think Zimmerman is close enough to that line to let his ideas come out, and still be true to the piece.
@fredericfranc post a video of a better performance with the same quality recording (so they can be accuratly compared without bias toward sound quality).
@deadly990 ...this is a very peculiar request because there are lots of performances of the Op. 49 here already, all over the place, it just takes an interested and an openminded listener...the emphasis in my comment is on the things Mr.Zimerman gets wrong...that he is basically betraying what Chopin music is supposed to be all about in a very major and obvious way...if this is not immediately apparent to you, well, nothing much I can do...try the Malcuzynski take here on the UT...
This is actually my favourite interpretation of this piece. I love how he takes his time with some parts to really let the music shine. More than just executed, but brought to life.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
This is obviously not a live recording, but just a finger-syncing music video to accompany the studio recording, which surely was not done on a single take.
Man, you don' t understand it. You have to say - It is difference between Chopin and Liszt, it is obvious. Liszt was an eccentric, show-off, and I love it. I adore his point of view on piano ( piano like a orchestra ). I just want to say that there are days when I prefer Liszt and days that Chopin rules ;-) . When I have to decide who - no. Their great friendship despite of difference of characters - was something special. Anyway generally I prefer noisy Liszt that Liszt - romantic lover.
The difference between Liszt/Alkan and Chopin is that Liszt/Alkan wrote technical difficulties for the sake of writing technical difficulties. Chopin wrote technical difficulties because they are necessary for expressing his musical ideas. So Chopin is awesomer. :)
so, you're saying Liszt's sonata in B minor, for instance, was completely written for the sake of technical difficulties and not for emotional ideas or musical interests whatsoever.
Listen to the lyrical 2nd movement. your statement is horrendously biased.
As always, it's hard to generalize in music. I think that my statement was a very general ones, but as with all generalizations - especially with music - there are often glaring exceptions. So no, I do not think that Liszt wrote purely for the purpose of making his music devilish, though I think that it does apply to a large portion of his music.
ok, but I would suggest that the major difference between Liszt's and Chopin's piano music is that Chopin intended to make the piano sound like the human voice, (bel canto) and Liszt wanted to imitate the sound of the orchestra. Ignorant people say Mazeppa is nothing but bombast. They don't have the ear to hear that Liszt built a stark contrast between the poetic section and the fortissimo sections, kind of like orchestral music.
The fact that Liszt transcribed tones of pieces for solo piano, including Beethoven symphonies, tells us that. Chopin told his pupils to play like how singers would sing. But, then again, Chopin also wrote a number of symphonic pieces, op.25 no.10 is slightly like what we call "Lisztian".
don't say meaningless, superficial things like "Chopin is awesomer". Just say you like his music better. Why do you call the examples I gave "glaring exceptions", when they can be seen so often? Sonnets, Liebestraum, Consolations etc, etc. In fact, which of Liszt music is non-musical and Hanon-like?
Alkan was also a composer who wrote multitudes of poetic melodies, what you did was not really "generalization". It was based on favoritism.
Liszt explored the possibilities of the instrument by trying to make every pianistic expression possible. What he did was similar to Chopin's. All those concert-etudes, do you honestly think they were only written to show off his technique? No. Don't you see how they're utilized effectively in multitudes of his reflective works? If you think you're simply "generalizing", and not prejudiced, you're pretty ignorant. I think you're just one of those Chpin-enthusiasts who only know Chopin.
I agree that Liszt over-exaggerated and over-extended paraphrases. I really dislike the Friska part, the Hungarian Rhapsody No.2. It sounds like some game music, it's not like Mozartian elegance.
But Liszt wasn't the only composer with weaknesses. Chopin is criticized for having wrote so many salon works, such as Mazurkas, Waltzes, which don't have much ingenuity in the LH accompaniment. and I remember someone saying the B minor Waltz is compositional crap. Art is really subjective.
However, I can't describe how much I love Chopin Ballades and the most poetic of Liszt's Transcendental Etudes. They influenced Scriabin, Rachmaninoff and MANY others.
You've been playing 7 years and you've played the 2nd Hungarian? That is fantastic! I've been playing 23 years and I want to learn this Fantasie that Zimerman is playing and my piano teacher says I'm not good enough haha!
why are these people shallow Chopin-lovers who don't have the ear to hear the depth of Liszt's music? Their knowledge in Romantic piano literature is so limited they only think Liszt as a technical virtuoso only?
By the way, did you that Czerny was a prolific composer of symphonies, poetic piano pieces?
Nul doute que si Zimerman mettait en vente un intégrale de l'oeuvre de Chopin, il se placerait clairement au même niveau que Rubinstein. Ses interprétations sont d'une précision et d'un raffinement quasi jamais vus, chaque note est pensée, réfléchie, chaque phrase pesée, tout est contrôlé dans ses moindres détails...Fantastique!
@duketter He found a note that sounded really good, then he wrote it down. Then he found another note that sounded really good, and he wrote that down after the first one. He carried on this way until the piece was written.
Truly great playing, a bit heavy and over-pedaled at times, but brilliant.
Please don't use the term "Recapitulation" when describing this masterpiece. That forces it into the "sonata form" genre which this piece just ain't. Unless, of course, you mean it differently.
These Chopin performances from Zimmerman are for me the best classical music postings on Youtube. I've compared so many performances and Zimmerman is completely in a class of his own. 'Sissco' thanks so much!
I believe the Barcarolle, Fantasie Polonaise-Fantasie, Fourth Ballade, and the final Mazurkas are in a different world. Despite his illness Chopin the composer, was growing at and astounding rate, similar to Mozart's last compositions, and Beethoven middle and late periods.
I dont know why some people compare the fantasy with the 4th ballade or other piece, really i dont know why; this piece in F minor is so beautiful and so difficult, i know because i'm learning it.
fantasy, barcarolle and the 4th ballade are the most beautiful of chopin piano pieces :D
I always think of the Fantasy as in the same family as the sonatas... there are many similarities in form... am I crazy? or does anybody else have the same thoughts?
Thanks for pointing that out! I wouldn't have been able to figure out that there was a recapitulation otherwise! Gah...man, you're right, he isn't playing it at all like the first time through...he's playing it as if it were written in a different key and had different dynamic markings and everything...as if it were a Chopin Fantasie instead of a Mozart Sonata w/exact repetition!
The form of this piece is very interesting. I've not looked at the score for years but every repetition of each of the many themes (not just two, as in Sonata-Allegro) explores a different key -- Keys explored are Fm - Ab - Db - Gb - and for a real surprise B major, in the beautiful slow section in the middle of the piece. So much for saying the romantics were not interested in form - Chopin found the perfect form for his highly creative genuine masterpieces. True genius.
Eh...sorry xiangyik, when I left that comment a month ago I thought that you meant Zimerman played the 'recapitulation' 'iffy', as if you were one of those stiffs who think that recaps should be played exactly as before. For some reason, my computer wasn't showing comments in 'reply threads'.
Zimerman is just one of the finest pianists of our day. His playing is just so good it's hard to resist. Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, even Ravel, I've never felt let down by his performances, especially his Totentanz. An icon for pianism and style.
I think in some way, this is a Zimmerman tour de force performance. There was some rubato that were nuanced just enough, to be slightly different, and his own version. An outstanding performance, IMO. Thanks.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
This is a great performance no doubt, but I think it's lacking in feeling. Zimerman seems too calculated in his playing, he plays the fortes and the pianos, takes time...incredible finesse. But none of it seems genuine. It's like he's manufacturing the feeling. It's hard for me to describe it, it's something intangible really. It's like the difference between an actor crying on screen and somebody actually crying in real life.
Check out Cziffra's performance of this piece here on YouTube, for a performance that I feel has that extra something that I can't describe. I feel that Cziffra is truly feeling the piece as he plays. I think it's more genuine and deep.
Well, I certainly feel that Zimerman's feeling in this piece is sincere, but I think that the way certain artists (or actors) feel things is hard for some groups of people to connect with. Some actors performances just wash over me--others make me melt. Zimerman makes me melt. But Cziffra doesn't touch me. Different things affect different people differently.
This is such a great performance - I've never heard a better interpretation. Incredible feeling, and he brings out the heroism like nobody else. Simply amazing and unique! I think I'm in love =)
He ist the greatest pianist of our times. Last year I heard him in Köln. It was the most impressive concert I've ever seen. Couldn't sleep half of the night. Honest. I love the way he brings the music to flow like a wave. An then: the pauses! No one can make such pauses. They seem not to end, but you don't get lost of the music. Unbelievable and unbearable. Don't even know another pianist like him in the history. Hope he could make more discs.
4:15. Everyone hears the Brahms Concerto No. 2 here ?
EJ2604 1 month ago
By comparing 0:20 and 3:33 you can see how great a pianist Zimerman is. 0:20 is so subtle, sweet and meticulous... 3:33 transform the same passage into the climax of the piece... truly magnificent, Master Zimerman!
vincentlam1984 1 month ago
@Mouhsim123 Not the same because they destroyed the piano in the U.S. In 2001
Ultrazone91 4 months ago
Does anybody know how to contact Mr. Zimerman? After seeing him from 5:13 to 5:20, I want to join my soccer team.
kingfire111 4 months ago
this guy inspires the uninspired ha ive been playing for 12 years and everytime i quit all i gotta do is watch zimerman or yundi li play and im back right at it:)
12345678321456 5 months ago
It's so amazing that he transports that piano everywhere he goes. The same Steinway everytime I see him play. I've never seen a pianist so dedicated to perfection like Zimerman. He is my favourite. Anyone agrees?
Mouhsin123 6 months ago 3
i going maby play piano. i hope that i ever can play this in my life its so amazing : DDD
Antox14161416 6 months ago in playlist piano
Thank you Zimerman for the mistake of 0:39 now I know that you are a human being.
honron21 6 months ago 2
Zimmerman...you can always count on him to provide world class Chopin interpretations! Honestly this must only be second to listening to the late man himself!
PopCultureSucks 6 months ago
Cannot think of myself playing the piano with a ring hahaha...
LCH14 9 months ago
Chopin...incomparabile!!!
NuovoCurioso 9 months ago
Just splendid perform!!!
nera00neve 1 year ago
I for ever try to figure out how do you explain to the fans of this playing, that Mr.Z is doing it all wrong, basically betraying Chopin, who is after all his countryman? The Polish, insanely aristocratic spirit of a piece like this comes through only with the underplaying, bacause playing it like this Mr.Z is compelled to toss a lot of the musical information out, in order to maintain the musical narrative he imposed on the piece. This fantasia is actually much better than this, believe me.
fredericfranc 1 year ago
@fredericfranc
We all walk a fine line when playing chopin. This fine line separates aristocracy from the raw passion of the music. If you venture too far into either, you entirely miss the point. I think Zimmerman is close enough to that line to let his ideas come out, and still be true to the piece.
I thought it was a great performance.
ProkofievRules 1 year ago
@fredericfranc post a video of a better performance with the same quality recording (so they can be accuratly compared without bias toward sound quality).
deadly990 10 months ago
@deadly990 ...this is a very peculiar request because there are lots of performances of the Op. 49 here already, all over the place, it just takes an interested and an openminded listener...the emphasis in my comment is on the things Mr.Zimerman gets wrong...that he is basically betraying what Chopin music is supposed to be all about in a very major and obvious way...if this is not immediately apparent to you, well, nothing much I can do...try the Malcuzynski take here on the UT...
fredericfranc 10 months ago
Comment removed
piano465 1 year ago
Bless his legs at 5:12:L
MGordge 1 year ago
thanks for posting,,i enjoyed all
nasser972 1 year ago
Has he played chopin waltz op.69 no.2??
please reply
Atrena2000 1 year ago
@Atrena2000 he played all the waltzes
New4785689 1 year ago
Has he played chopin waltz op.69 no.2??
please reply
Atrena2000 1 year ago
ending stand up wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
yurizanfan 1 year ago
zimerman's feeling was so high~ notice his legs....=D
ypmming90 1 year ago
Comment removed
NjallPiano 1 year ago
齊瑪曼實為蕭邦大師!
op66kimo 1 year ago
Fantastické!!!!!!
zdevol7 1 year ago
This is actually my favourite interpretation of this piece. I love how he takes his time with some parts to really let the music shine. More than just executed, but brought to life.
ProkofievRules 1 year ago
5:13 - 5:25 - my favorite moments - look at his legs)) It seems, that he try hit ball, all kill somebody)
OlegGultayev 1 year ago
@OlegGultayev my favourite moment is 4:37 :)
4785689 1 year ago
musica sublime. pianista strepitoso. che altro dire...
ilovescarlatti 1 year ago
all that fire!I love it :)
nousernamewhatsoever 1 year ago
Great post!! Thanks.
gerryrains 1 year ago
zimerman is one of the most energetic pianists i've ever seen. i love it.
fledgehog 1 year ago
It's amazing how zimerman is above all other pianists in playing Chopin,.
sokkaperri 1 year ago 2
favoloso! ma poi quel ritornello è sublime!! mmh forse zimerman è il migliore..
MrPianist91 2 years ago
È senza dubbio uno dei migliori, ma anche Rubinstein e Blechacz non scherzano :) Zimerman, comunque, ha uno stile unico!
IsySkizzy 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
This is obviously not a live recording, but just a finger-syncing music video to accompany the studio recording, which surely was not done on a single take.
How do you all feel about this practice?
jimjoyce25 2 years ago
are you sure of that? how
exanovaa 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
im sorry, does ANYONE know where all these Zimerman videos were performed?? Because the owner of all the vids isnt telling me :(
ragtimesamtime 2 years ago
Man, you don' t understand it. You have to say - It is difference between Chopin and Liszt, it is obvious. Liszt was an eccentric, show-off, and I love it. I adore his point of view on piano ( piano like a orchestra ). I just want to say that there are days when I prefer Liszt and days that Chopin rules ;-) . When I have to decide who - no. Their great friendship despite of difference of characters - was something special. Anyway generally I prefer noisy Liszt that Liszt - romantic lover.
kamil3546 2 years ago
zimerman fuck you= ) ) you are the best
albaerti 2 years ago 4
greats pianist.......
superstarduc 2 years ago 3
Zimerman- one of the best chopin players ! Absolutely ! I must have this DVD
Orgelmuecke 2 years ago 7
the poet of the piano :)
mahbtiu 2 years ago 2
I tottaly respect composers like Liszt or Alkan for their technique achievements and virtuosity... it's the high level but....
My godness that pianissimo from 5:38 is higher level...the highest...forever Chopin
kamil3546 2 years ago 6
The difference between Liszt/Alkan and Chopin is that Liszt/Alkan wrote technical difficulties for the sake of writing technical difficulties. Chopin wrote technical difficulties because they are necessary for expressing his musical ideas. So Chopin is awesomer. :)
FredilYupigo 2 years ago
so, you're saying Liszt's sonata in B minor, for instance, was completely written for the sake of technical difficulties and not for emotional ideas or musical interests whatsoever.
Listen to the lyrical 2nd movement. your statement is horrendously biased.
chopinandliszt 2 years ago
As always, it's hard to generalize in music. I think that my statement was a very general ones, but as with all generalizations - especially with music - there are often glaring exceptions. So no, I do not think that Liszt wrote purely for the purpose of making his music devilish, though I think that it does apply to a large portion of his music.
FredilYupigo 2 years ago
ok, but I would suggest that the major difference between Liszt's and Chopin's piano music is that Chopin intended to make the piano sound like the human voice, (bel canto) and Liszt wanted to imitate the sound of the orchestra. Ignorant people say Mazeppa is nothing but bombast. They don't have the ear to hear that Liszt built a stark contrast between the poetic section and the fortissimo sections, kind of like orchestral music.
chopinandliszt 2 years ago
The fact that Liszt transcribed tones of pieces for solo piano, including Beethoven symphonies, tells us that. Chopin told his pupils to play like how singers would sing. But, then again, Chopin also wrote a number of symphonic pieces, op.25 no.10 is slightly like what we call "Lisztian".
chopinandliszt 2 years ago
don't say meaningless, superficial things like "Chopin is awesomer". Just say you like his music better. Why do you call the examples I gave "glaring exceptions", when they can be seen so often? Sonnets, Liebestraum, Consolations etc, etc. In fact, which of Liszt music is non-musical and Hanon-like?
Alkan was also a composer who wrote multitudes of poetic melodies, what you did was not really "generalization". It was based on favoritism.
chopinandliszt 2 years ago
Liszt explored the possibilities of the instrument by trying to make every pianistic expression possible. What he did was similar to Chopin's. All those concert-etudes, do you honestly think they were only written to show off his technique? No. Don't you see how they're utilized effectively in multitudes of his reflective works? If you think you're simply "generalizing", and not prejudiced, you're pretty ignorant. I think you're just one of those Chpin-enthusiasts who only know Chopin.
chopinandliszt 2 years ago 3
This comment has received too many negative votes show
well and you for saying this, and being named as you are, obviously are a chopin and liszt enthusiast, who might only know these two guys ;).
I for my part have studied the piano for 7 years and he sure has a point. ;-)
I played for example the Mephisto Waltz and the second hungarian and believe me, they for sure do suck after a while.
Although I fully agree that the sonata in h-minor is one of the most genius pieces of music ever written ;-)
just my 2 cents
Einstein2000 2 years ago
I agree that Liszt over-exaggerated and over-extended paraphrases. I really dislike the Friska part, the Hungarian Rhapsody No.2. It sounds like some game music, it's not like Mozartian elegance.
But Liszt wasn't the only composer with weaknesses. Chopin is criticized for having wrote so many salon works, such as Mazurkas, Waltzes, which don't have much ingenuity in the LH accompaniment. and I remember someone saying the B minor Waltz is compositional crap. Art is really subjective.
chopinandliszt 2 years ago
However, I can't describe how much I love Chopin Ballades and the most poetic of Liszt's Transcendental Etudes. They influenced Scriabin, Rachmaninoff and MANY others.
chopinandliszt 2 years ago
@Einstein2000
You've been playing 7 years and you've played the 2nd Hungarian? That is fantastic! I've been playing 23 years and I want to learn this Fantasie that Zimerman is playing and my piano teacher says I'm not good enough haha!
Scampdude 1 year ago
@Scampdude
yeah well, don't worry about that.
depending on age and the daily amount of practice 7 years naturally are more than 23. Furthermore: Noone said, he could play it well :P
Einstein2000 1 year ago
why are these people shallow Chopin-lovers who don't have the ear to hear the depth of Liszt's music? Their knowledge in Romantic piano literature is so limited they only think Liszt as a technical virtuoso only?
By the way, did you that Czerny was a prolific composer of symphonies, poetic piano pieces?
chopinandliszt 2 years ago
5:24 sit down man!!..
what a great playing by this man! t y for this video!
zurzica51 2 years ago 2
Il a un jeu d'une sûreté étonnante...
K189T 2 years ago
Nul doute que si Zimerman mettait en vente un intégrale de l'oeuvre de Chopin, il se placerait clairement au même niveau que Rubinstein. Ses interprétations sont d'une précision et d'un raffinement quasi jamais vus, chaque note est pensée, réfléchie, chaque phrase pesée, tout est contrôlé dans ses moindres détails...Fantastique!
Paulo78180 2 years ago 16
absolutly perfect...
DrJobs 2 years ago
who takes cocaine???
thorrin70 2 years ago
Acojonante! Joder, que perfección musical.
GeorgeMaxwellDuPre 3 years ago 4
<3<3
ConcertPiano 3 years ago 4
♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡
ailecec 3 years ago 7
How did Chopin do this?
duketter 3 years ago 52
Magic.
FredilYupigo 3 years ago 17
lol ya
blahblah3299 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Cocaine. And the fact that he was a musical genius.
rrg019000 2 years ago
@duketter Chopin wrote it and Zimerman played it! ;)
pianoforever37 1 year ago
@duketter Chopin wrote it and an amazing pianist played it....
pianoforever37 1 year ago
@duketter He loved his homeland...
MaslAlek 1 year ago
@duketter He found a note that sounded really good, then he wrote it down. Then he found another note that sounded really good, and he wrote that down after the first one. He carried on this way until the piece was written.
debrucey 1 year ago
@duketter Sensibility to music. His brain was a miracle... HE WAS A MIRACLE!!!
MaslAlek 1 year ago 3
@MaslAlek he IS a miracle dude
New4785689 6 months ago
@duketter Not to forget 'How did Zimerman PLAY this?' :D
whneo97 7 months ago
Why are the sound-quality poor in part 2 and great in part 1? =(
Anders039 3 years ago 8
Peak at 3:33 Wonderful!
K189T 3 years ago 9
Truly great playing, a bit heavy and over-pedaled at times, but brilliant.
Please don't use the term "Recapitulation" when describing this masterpiece. That forces it into the "sonata form" genre which this piece just ain't. Unless, of course, you mean it differently.
LazlosPlane 3 years ago 3
what a soul
DrJobs 3 years ago 2
These Chopin performances from Zimmerman are for me the best classical music postings on Youtube. I've compared so many performances and Zimmerman is completely in a class of his own. 'Sissco' thanks so much!
FILIGREE1 3 years ago 48
Completely agreed! Well said!
FredilYupigo 3 years ago 4
I've listened to it once and it won't load anymore... you can't imagine how mad I am!
FredilYupigo 3 years ago 4
perfect :-)
mimimimimira 3 years ago 5
Astonishing performance of this powerful but difficult piece! It's much harder to play than he makes it look or sound. This is wonderful!
cerzule 3 years ago 5
Heh, wish he made it look as easy, then I wouldn't be intimidated since I'm learning this :P
FredilYupigo 3 years ago 2
He makes it seem so easy...
Musicman180 3 years ago 3
zimerman is the jesus of piano.
N8Shokr 3 years ago 5
yes;) hes a bit like the keith jarrett in classic;)
Brahmstein99 3 years ago
lol he seems to be standing up at 5:24
54spiritedwill54 3 years ago
I think I heard him hum at 1:32
musiKraZ 3 years ago
such nobility!
jcyl141104 3 years ago
I believe the Barcarolle, Fantasie Polonaise-Fantasie, Fourth Ballade, and the final Mazurkas are in a different world. Despite his illness Chopin the composer, was growing at and astounding rate, similar to Mozart's last compositions, and Beethoven middle and late periods.
mikeinkc 3 years ago
I dont know why some people compare the fantasy with the 4th ballade or other piece, really i dont know why; this piece in F minor is so beautiful and so difficult, i know because i'm learning it.
fantasy, barcarolle and the 4th ballade are the most beautiful of chopin piano pieces :D
ArielMagno91 4 years ago
most of his polonaises, the first ballade, etudes op.10, piano concertos one and two, four scherzos, his mazurkas, and preludes!!
the once i just mentioned are for me his best compositions and the once you said too xD
heroicpolonaise 4 years ago
id say his 4th ballade is the best. there are no other compositions like that.
daniel0212 4 years ago 4
I always think of the Fantasy as in the same family as the sonatas... there are many similarities in form... am I crazy? or does anybody else have the same thoughts?
beryllium2 4 years ago
There are some slight similarities, but this one's recapitulation is iffy.
xiangyik 3 years ago
Thanks for pointing that out! I wouldn't have been able to figure out that there was a recapitulation otherwise! Gah...man, you're right, he isn't playing it at all like the first time through...he's playing it as if it were written in a different key and had different dynamic markings and everything...as if it were a Chopin Fantasie instead of a Mozart Sonata w/exact repetition!
photoeditingchicken 3 years ago 4
(that was for xiangyik's comment)
photoeditingchicken 3 years ago 2
The form of this piece is very interesting. I've not looked at the score for years but every repetition of each of the many themes (not just two, as in Sonata-Allegro) explores a different key -- Keys explored are Fm - Ab - Db - Gb - and for a real surprise B major, in the beautiful slow section in the middle of the piece. So much for saying the romantics were not interested in form - Chopin found the perfect form for his highly creative genuine masterpieces. True genius.
musicformillions 3 years ago 4
Eh...sorry xiangyik, when I left that comment a month ago I thought that you meant Zimerman played the 'recapitulation' 'iffy', as if you were one of those stiffs who think that recaps should be played exactly as before. For some reason, my computer wasn't showing comments in 'reply threads'.
photoeditingchicken 3 years ago 2
chopin would like to hear this man
ArielMagno91 4 years ago 9
Zimerman is just one of the finest pianists of our day. His playing is just so good it's hard to resist. Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, even Ravel, I've never felt let down by his performances, especially his Totentanz. An icon for pianism and style.
paolohudson 4 years ago 6
I think in some way, this is a Zimmerman tour de force performance. There was some rubato that were nuanced just enough, to be slightly different, and his own version. An outstanding performance, IMO. Thanks.
mason104 4 years ago 2
YOU CAN'T NEVER TELL WHAT IS IN HIS SOUL
ieronim2003 4 years ago 8
This comment has received too many negative votes show
This is a great performance no doubt, but I think it's lacking in feeling. Zimerman seems too calculated in his playing, he plays the fortes and the pianos, takes time...incredible finesse. But none of it seems genuine. It's like he's manufacturing the feeling. It's hard for me to describe it, it's something intangible really. It's like the difference between an actor crying on screen and somebody actually crying in real life.
PianoManSteve 4 years ago
Check out Cziffra's performance of this piece here on YouTube, for a performance that I feel has that extra something that I can't describe. I feel that Cziffra is truly feeling the piece as he plays. I think it's more genuine and deep.
PianoManSteve 4 years ago
Well, I certainly feel that Zimerman's feeling in this piece is sincere, but I think that the way certain artists (or actors) feel things is hard for some groups of people to connect with. Some actors performances just wash over me--others make me melt. Zimerman makes me melt. But Cziffra doesn't touch me. Different things affect different people differently.
retrogamerdave 4 years ago 2
True true. It's great we have so many different performances and styles, and that we can find the ones that we love best (or enjoy many, of course).
PianoManSteve 4 years ago
very well said.
ThunderJacky 4 years ago
Definitely one of my favorite Chopin pieces. So glorious! And I love to watch--not so much to listen to Zimerman play it! ^_^
retrogamerdave 4 years ago
4:54 just puts the biggest smile on my face. Chopin and Zimerman--a match made in heaven.
retrogamerdave 4 years ago
Yessss.. I love love love love it! He is so passionate it makes me melt.
AngelinaTaylor 4 years ago
This is such a great performance - I've never heard a better interpretation. Incredible feeling, and he brings out the heroism like nobody else. Simply amazing and unique! I think I'm in love =)
AngelinaTaylor 4 years ago 2
yeah, me too, and I'm a guy, and straight... ;)
retrogamerdave 4 years ago
3:59 ~ 4:52 is my favourite part of this part ;)
ThunderJacky 4 years ago 2
what is IMHO?
ThunderJacky 4 years ago
hallo?! contact
eend1984 5 years ago
Will you marry me?
eend1984 5 years ago
He ist the greatest pianist of our times. Last year I heard him in Köln. It was the most impressive concert I've ever seen. Couldn't sleep half of the night. Honest. I love the way he brings the music to flow like a wave. An then: the pauses! No one can make such pauses. They seem not to end, but you don't get lost of the music. Unbelievable and unbearable. Don't even know another pianist like him in the history. Hope he could make more discs.
highfats 5 years ago
lol, i couldnt tell if you were praising him or insulting him.
cowheadcow 5 years ago
lol he seems to be standing up at 5:24
2004169 5 years ago
he did stand up a little.
ThunderJacky 4 years ago
Totally Schweet! I loved that part where he nearly stood up to play that one chord! And the ending cadence--iv-I; gotta love it!
retrogamerdave 5 years ago
amazing playing!!! maybe a bit too sentimental and cheesy for me. but i say it with great respect, he is a wonderful musician.
andreigocan 5 years ago
impecable
christian6657 5 years ago
Powerfull
aaabbbccc5 5 years ago